Life Lessons From Google Search With Simon Rogers - TWMJ #1047
Release Date: 08/02/2026
Life Lessons From Google Search With Simon Rogers - TWMJ #1047
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1047 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent his career turning data into stories that help us better understand the world... and ourselves. A former news editor at , where he founded and edited its influential , Simon is now the Data Editor at , working with , one of the largest publicly accessible datasets of human curiosity and behaviour ever created. He is also the co-host of and a longtime advocate for open data, visualization and making complex information meaningful. His new book, , explores what billions of searches reveal about...
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Productivity Breakthroughs With Liane Davey - TWMJ #1046
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1046 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent her career helping leaders and teams perform at their best. As an organizational psychologist, bestselling author, trusted advisor to companies around the world and dear friend, she has long explored what separates high-performing teams from those that quietly struggle beneath the surface. Her latest book, , introduces a deceptively simple but powerful idea: the biggest challenge facing today's organizations isn't workload... it's thoughtload. While most leaders focus on reducing tasks...
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Prosperity And Economic Growth With Chris Bradley - TWMJ #1045
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1045 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent more than twenty-five years helping organizations navigate strategy, growth, and long-term transformation as a Senior Partner at . He also serves as a Director of the , the firm's independent research arm, where he explores some of the biggest economic, technological, and societal questions shaping our future. His latest book, , challenges one of today's most pervasive narratives: that humanity's best days are behind us. Drawing on years of research, Chris argues that another century of...
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A World Of Intelligent Machines With Steve Brown - TWMJ #1044
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1044 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent more than twenty-five years helping organizations prepare for the future of technology. A former Senior Director and in-house futurist at during the launch of , former Chief Evangelist and Futurist at , entrepreneur and advisor, Steve has worked with global brands including Nike, JPMorgan Chase, Samsung, Disney and more to navigate digital transformation and the rapidly evolving AI landscape. His latest book, , argues that AI is not another technology deployment but a fundamental...
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A Playbook For Growth With Nicolas Darveau-Garneau - TWMJ #1043
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1043 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent his career helping organizations understand where technology creates lasting competitive advantage. A serial entrepreneur, former General Manager of in Canada, and then off to the Valley (where he still resides) as Google’s former Chief Evangelist, Nicolas has advised more than a thousand executives on digital transformation, AI, marketing, and growth strategy. His latest book, , challenges one of business’s most common assumptions: that efficiency is the ultimate measure of success....
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The Most Powerful Force In Business With Marcus Buckingham - TWMJ #1042
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1042 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). has spent more than three decades changing how organizations think about people, performance, and leadership. As one of the pioneers of the strengths movement, his research has influenced millions of managers around the world and helped reshape the way companies approach employee engagement and organizational culture. After beginning his career as a researcher at , Marcus became one of the driving forces behind some of the most influential ideas in modern management. His books include , , , and . He has...
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Winning With AI With Charlene Li - TWMJ #1041
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1041 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when every leadership team is being told that artificial intelligence will change everything, has spent her career helping organizations separate signal from noise. A New York Times bestselling author and trusted advisor to CEOs and boards, Charlene first became widely known for helping leaders understand transformative shifts through books like , and . Her latest book, , co-authored with , tackles one of the most pressing questions facing business leaders today: not what AI is, but what to do...
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AI And The Knowledge Economy With Sangeet Paul Choudary
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1040 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). Long before artificial intelligence became the dominant business conversation, was helping leaders understand another profound shift in economic power: the rise of platforms. As the co-author of , founder of , advisor to global corporations and governments, and a respected thinkers on digital business models, Sangeet has spent years studying how technology changes the sources of competitive advantage and reshapes entire industries. His latest book, , extends that work into the age of artificial...
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Developing A Vital Voice With Carmine Gallo - TWMJ #1039
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1039 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). I believe that communication has always been one of the most valuable skills in business. But in an era of AI-generated content, algorithmic feeds, podcasts, newsletters, keynote stages, short-form video and endless digital noise, it may be becoming even more important. Few people have spent more time studying what makes ideas resonate than . A communication coach, author, and instructor in executive education at , Carmine is best known for bestselling books including , , and . His latest project, , is...
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Human Agency With Marcus Fontoura - TWMJ #1038
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1038 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when technology feels simultaneously more powerful and more opaque than ever, is making a case for something many people feel they’ve lost: agency. A Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at , Marcus has spent decades helping build the infrastructure that powers the modern internet, including leadership roles at , and . His new book, , is both a guide to understanding the technologies shaping our lives and a reminder that we are not merely passengers along for the ride. Drawing on...
info_outlineWelcome to episode #1047 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation).
Simon Rogers has spent his career turning data into stories that help us better understand the world... and ourselves. A former news editor at The Guardian, where he founded and edited its influential Datablog, Simon is now the Data Editor at Google, working with Google Trends, one of the largest publicly accessible datasets of human curiosity and behaviour ever created. He is also the co-host of The Data Journalism Podcast and a longtime advocate for open data, visualization and making complex information meaningful. His new book, What We Ask Google - A Surprisingly Hopeful History Of Humankind, explores what billions of searches reveal about our private fears, shared vulnerabilities, cultural obsessions and desire to help one another. In this episode, Simon discusses why search offers a uniquely intimate portrait of humanity... not the carefully curated version we present on social media, but the questions we ask when we genuinely need answers. He explains how searches surrounding grief, friendship, parenting, health and crisis reveal that people are often far less alone than they feel, and perhaps more compassionate than our public discourse suggests. We also explore Google Trends as a cultural and predictive signal, the communities formed through shared curiosity, and why being surrounded by data does not necessarily make us more insightful. Simon reflects on how AI is changing the language and complexity of our searches without fundamentally changing what humans want to know. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of search as a collective stream of consciousness... chaotic, vulnerable, curious and surprisingly hopeful. Enjoy the conversation...
- Running time: 53:45.
- Hello from beautiful Montreal.
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- Here is my conversation with Simon Rogers.
- What We Ask Google - A Surprisingly Hopeful History Of Humankind.
- The Data Journalism Podcast.
- Datablog.
- Google Trends.
- Follow Simon on X.
- Follow Simon on Bluesky.
- Follow Simon on LinkedIn.
Chapters:
(00:00) - The Role of a Data Editor.
(02:47) - Exploring Optimism Through Data.
(05:57) - Understanding Human Connection Through Search.
(09:05) - Cultural Reflections in Search Trends.
(11:59) - The Intimacy of Search Queries.
(15:08) - The Power of Data Visualization.
(17:57) - Shifts in Search Behavior During Covid.
(21:05) - The Complexity of Community and Connection.
(23:57) - Echo Chambers and Misinformation.
(27:06) - Predictive Power of Search Data.
(28:19) - AI's Impact on Search Behavior.
(33:28) - Understanding AI Integration in Search.
(36:12) - Data Richness vs. Insightfulness.
(39:01) - The Art of Data Storytelling.
(41:25) - Search Behavior and Societal Reflections.
(44:16) - Loneliness and Connection in Search Data.
(45:39) - The Future of AI and Search Engines.